


beautiful

by tropicalpigeon



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Link (Legend of Zelda) Uses Sign Language, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sad Fluff, adding/rewriting canon, basically yuga slashed his face to make him ~not beautiful~ and he is super insecure abt it, first time writing loz ayy, had to write my headcanon that ravio has a big scar on his face, link and ravio are 16-18 over the course of this fic, strong language (ravio says fuck)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22963657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tropicalpigeon/pseuds/tropicalpigeon
Summary: Hilda was right when she called Ravio a coward.He hid his disfigurement behind his mask, too ashamed to show anyone, not even Link.Until Link begs to see his face before his final fight with Yuga, and Ravio feels obligated.--Scarred!Ravio and Mute!Link angst/fluff fic!
Relationships: Link/Ravio (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 319





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I played ALBW and I can't stop thinking about these idiots in love.

The last time Ravio had looked in a mirror had been before he left Lorule.

Actually, it was probably the morning that he left while he was getting ready. He didn’t know that he would be leaving his homeland (well, his home _universe_ ) that night, but he probably had a hunch. Tensions between him and Princess Hilda were rising and rising, and every day Ravio was shocked that they hadn’t reached the breaking point yet.

Case in point: that evening. Ravio stood dutifully by his princess’s side as one of the court strategists conversed with her, mind drifting elsewhere. (He often daydreamed about what Hyrule was like; he imagined it was like Lorule before the corruption of the Triforce, but he was born long after Lorule had already fallen into ruin, so he had no point of reference for that, either.) Hilda had really been doubling down on her plan lately--daily meetings with strategists and, of course, Yuga. Ravio made his hatred of Yuga clear, as he did with most all of his opinions, but Hilda had particularly taken to him for some reason. Maybe it was his constant flattery, or maybe it was his willingness to eschew morals, unlike Ravio. Ravio had been Hilda’s right hand man, her _appointed knight_ , for so many years, yet she easily trusted Yuga before him. He would be lying if he didn’t feel the tiniest bit jealous, but he’d never admit it.

After the strategist left, it was just Ravio and the princess in her throne room. It was an octagonal room, elaborately decorated with silver filigree and huge, floor-to-ceiling windows flanked by long, indigo curtains that touched the plush rug bearing the Lorule insignia on the floor. If an outsider looked in, they would probably assume that Lorule was a wealthy, prosperous kingdom. How wrong they would be.

Hilda leaned back in her seat and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Lolia, bureaucracy was a mistake.”

“I wholeheartedly agree, Princess,” Ravio chuckled, tucking a lock of dark hair behind his pointed ear and nervously playing with the ruby earring that sat at its base. “Maybe it’s for the best if we delay this plan?”

The princess shot him a glare that made him wilt where he stood. “How many years has Lorule been in ruin? How many people have suffered?” she growled, her voice low in her throat. This was the umpteenth reincarnation of the same argument they’d had a million times.

“How many Hylians will suffer if you steal their triforce?” shot back Ravio.

At that, Hilda scoffed. “Ravio, you’re far too empathetic for your own good.”

Ravio mumbled something about her not being empathetic enough, and she slammed a fist on the desk, causing ink pots to rattle. “If you refuse to support Lorule, then leave! If you hate it so much, then leave! I’ve known you were a coward since the beginning, but I thought I could shake some sense into you. I was wrong,” she snarled, her upper lip rising to reveal sharp canine teeth. Ravio wondered if Yuga would still call her beautiful now.

“They’re still people, my princess!” Ravio shouted, feeling his hands shake.

“Leave!” Princess Hilda ordered, thrusting her arm ahead of her to point to the door. When Ravio didn’t move, she reiterated, “Now!”

Ravio swallowed the lump in his throat and left, slamming the door as hard as possible behind him. Damn her, damn Yuga, damn Lorule, damn this universe. His boots were uncomfortably loud against the tile as he marched down the hallways of Lorule Castle on autopilot.

Yuga.

It was all his fault. If Princess Hilda hadn’t met him, hadn’t put so much trust in him, she would never have become this extreme. He had manipulated her into... what, exactly, Ravio didn’t know yet, but he had manipulated her, polarized her, turned her extreme. It was time to put an end to this. _Coward my ass._

Ravio swung open the door to Yuga’s quarters, not bothering to knock. Yuga was sitting at his desk, writing something down in a notebook with one hand and fixing his blood orange hair with the other. Upon the disturbance, he shot to his feet and put a hand on his hip where his sword rested instinctively. Before he could panic too much, though, he realized it was Ravio and laughed. “Oh, it’s only you. Why the late visit, Ravio?” he asked in that nasally voice that irked him so much.

Without thinking, Ravio unsheathed his sword and swiped at him in pure rage. Yuga easily dodged and cackled once more, and Ravio began to get the impression that he may have been in over his head in his frustrated stupor. “So rude of a visitor!” Yuga grinned before twirling his sword around his hand and lunging like the showy bastard he was. Ravio parried quickly and shoved him to the floor, where he made an exceedingly loud thud.

He descended upon him and held his sword to Yuga’s throat, breathing heavily. The red cleared from his vision, and he realized he was about to kill someone. His eyebrows furrowed, and he stopped to think for a second. Could he justify killing Yuga in cold blood? He hadn’t actually done anything yet... Lolia, maybe Hilda was right, and he was too empathetic.

 _Coward_.

In his moment of distraction, Yuga pushed his sword hand off of his neck and headbutted him in the chin, successfully throwing Ravio off of him. Ravio groaned and held his jaw in his hand--definitely broken--and clambered to his feet ungracefully. His vision was swimming and his entire skull was throbbing in pain. “I always thought you were so... _ugly_ ,” Yuga taunted, before Ravio opened his eyes to see a sword coming down right between them.

Yuga’s sword cut a line from Ravio’s left eyebrow all the way down to below his right cheekbone. It felt like fire, then ice, then warm and sticky as he raised a hand to feel the damage. The pain combined with his broken jaw was unbearable. Blood was gushing from the gash at a worrying speed, and before Ravio knew it, the front of his once-purple tunic was stained black. He felt vomit bubble in his throat, but he clamped a hand over his mouth and stumbled to the door. _Coward_ . _Leave!_

“Don’t bother coming back to Lorule Castle. Hilda and I will have it all worked out,” Yuga spat, kicking Ravio’s back and slamming the door behind him.

 _I’m going to die_ , thought Ravio as he bled profusely onto the dusty tiles of Lorule castle. _Hilda was right. I am a coward._ Before he could accept his fate, he remembered the bracelet on his wrist. He had been researching the cracks in the ancient tablet for Hilda, and he found that this particular stone had reacted with it in an interesting way. He had it tempered into a bracelet, and he wore it constantly to see if it reacted to anything else. When he drew his shaky wrist to his face, he saw that the purple stone inlaid in the gold frame was glowing. Maybe Hilda could find a use for this stupid bracelet, once everything was over.

His last modicum of strength drained from the cut in his face, and his head fell back against the wall. Everything was black.

-

When Ravio woke up, he was in an unusually bright place. The grass was green, _alive_ ; the sky was blue, too, and clear, unpolluted water flowed in the rivers. He briefly wondered if he was dead and in heaven, until a bird landed on his arm and squawked directly in his face. He flinched and shook the bird off, and in his movement, he felt the dried blood on his face crack unpleasantly. Instantly he remembered the events of the previous night and frantically touched his own face, feeling for the lines of the slash. It was still there. It wasn’t a horrible dream. Lolia, he must be disfigured. What cruel irony...

Ravio was pulled out of his shock by the bird’s incessant chirping. It had perched itself upon a nearby rock after he shooed it away, and its bright white and blue feathers glimmered in the afternoon sun. “What do you want?” he groaned as the adrenaline of waking up wore off and a deep ache settled into each of his joints. His jaw especially was on fire.

“Shee!” the bird squawked.

Ravio frowned and looked down at his tunic. It was caked with blood that had browned as it dried. Great, now he’d need to get a new one since blood never quite washed out right... It dawned on him that he had no rupees, just a sword and the blood-stained clothes on his back. He could practically hear Princess Hilda in his ear whinging about how he should’ve planned better before he went disappearing into other dimensions.

Princess Hilda.

He left Princess Hilda _alone_ . Alone with _Yuga_.

He was fucking insane.

Panic brewed in his stomach. He had to get back as soon as possible, until Hilda and Yuga were here, too. Who was he kidding, he’d never be able to stop them. Hilda was by far the most stubborn, headstrong person he knew, and Yuga was all too willing to go along with it. He had to enlist help. _Think, Ravio_...

He couldn’t just waltz into Hyrule Castle (he really was in Hyrule, wasn’t he? After all these years, he finally made it to Hyrule. If only it was under better circumstances...) and ask to talk to Princess Zelda, especially not with his face all bloody.

Right. First things first, he had to rinse his face. And clothes, and hair, and...

He stumbled over to the nearby river and dunked his whole head in, surprised at how cool and crisp the water felt. He scrubbed at his cheeks, forehead, and nose especially hard, as if maybe if he rubbed his skin hard enough the gash in his face would go away.

-

All things considered, Ravio liked living in Hyrule.

Making rupees was fairly easy, and he had loaded up on tools since his arrival. The first thing he did was get a mask and a set of new clothes, all purple, of course (He was still Lorulean at heart, after all). After donning the mask, people didn’t stare as much and he felt much more secure. At night, he snuck into the back of the Sanctuary to rest, and the groundskeeper either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He didn’t have to worry about his sack of rupees being pickpocketed or being ambushed in his sleep. Hylian life was much easier than Lolian life.

But Hilda’s accusation still hung in his mind. _Coward_.

She was right, after all. He had fled his universe to the other, better one and left his old one in the dust. He hadn’t done anything of consequence for the past few months or so he was in Hyrule; he was biding his time, or so he justified it to himself. What he was waiting for, he didn’t know.

He found it one night, passed out on the floor of the Sanctuary. He had just slinked into the Sanctuary after an evening of drinking at the milk bar in Kakariko Village and hustling the regulars at cards when he tripped over a shadowy figure on the floor. He turned around to investigate, and there laid a sleeping boy with an upturned nose and green hat. He looked serene as he slept, and he looked...

Well, he looked just like Ravio.

Ravio knelt to look at him closer, and Sheerow flitted down to land by his foot unhelpfully. The boy’s cheekbones were high, and his hair was a caramel-blonde swoop over his forehead with two tails that hung below pointed ears, just like Ravio’s. His outfit looked almost identical to the one Ravio wore as Hilda’s knight, but dyed a vibrant emerald green instead of purple, and his eyebrows were light brown in stark contrast to Ravio’s wild, unkempt black ones. A sword laid in his left hand, and Ravio felt the very Lolian urge to steal it. Instead of stealing it, he gingerly grabbed it from the sleeping boy’s hand and slowly sheathed it in the leather sheath on his hip. His body radiated heat beneath him, and Ravio bit his lip.

What was he supposed to do now? Leave his sleeping, scarless doppelganger in the Sanctuary to fend for himself when he woke up? If he was in Lorule, he might’ve, but the Hylian thing to do was help him find somewhere to shelter for the night safely. With a reluctant groan, he wiggled a hand under the boy’s knees and another under the boy’s back before lifting. Thankfully, he remained asleep and even snored quietly in his arms. Ravio grumbled a curse under his breath--over his months-long siesta, he hadn’t exactly kept up his workout regimen--and Sheerow chirped, landing on the boy’s stomach.

-

Thankfully, the house that corresponded to his own in Lorule was empty when he stumbled in, and even more thankfully, there was a bed for him to throw the boy upon. He had abandoned the bridal-carry a few minutes in in favor of the firefighter, sack-of-potatoes method to make sure he could carry him the whole way without his arms giving out. He had almost stumbled to the house by muscle memory, and by the time he realized, he was already at the foot of the hill upon which it rested (the good thing about coming to Hyrule from Lorule, he supposed, was that he already knew its general layout).

Ravio slumped to the wooden floor and caught his breath, and after a minute, was greeted by the familiar feeling of Sheerow landing on his shoulder. “What now, Sheerow?” he muttered, mostly to himself. What now, indeed. Should he wait for the boy to wake up? If he’s Ravio’s Hyrule counterpart, maybe he was the fabled Princess Zelda’s knight, which meant that he could help Ravio destroy Yuga. On the other hand, if he wasn’t Zelda’s knight, Ravio was only wasting time by waiting by his side. (He was wasting time anyway, though, wasn’t he?)

Ravio must’ve dozed off, because his next memory was the sound of the boy waking up. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes, obviously drowsy. Ravio quickly stood and brushed his robes off, trying to look presentable. “Oh, you’re waking up! Good. I was starting to worry about you, buddy!”

The boy looked at him, and his eyes the color of blue rupees felt like they looked straight through Ravio’s mask. “I found you in the Sanctuary. Passed out. Alone.”

-

Living with Link was better than at the Sanctuary, that was for certain. Not only did Ravio have a free place to rest his head, but he was making a few rupees while he was at it, too. Every once in a while, Link came home for a few days or more, and it felt almost domestic. He never asked about the mask, but Ravio knew he wondered by the way he looked at him sometimes over a meal or a game of cards (Ravio taught him how to play poker, and he took to it quickly). He got used to Link’s mutism fairly quickly since he already knew sign language, but some of his mannerisms were harder to get used to.

For example, he had no qualms about changing in front of Ravio, which wasn’t exactly an _issue,_ per se. Ravio didn’t _try_ to look, but truthfully, he was more often than not grateful for the mask that covered his eyes. The first few times Link started to pull his shirt over his head, Ravio couldn’t even look in his vague direction out of shyness, but the fifth or so time, he was able to really take in Link’s boxer-clad form. He was fit, yes, but most interesting to Ravio was that he was covered in scars. Some were deeper than others (he had an especially deep scar across his right shoulder blade that had turned white and shiny as it healed), but it would be difficult to find a large part of his body that wasn’t scarred in some way.

It reminded him of his own scar.

He had pushed it out of sight, out of mind over the year or so; Ravio hadn’t encountered any mirrors while in Hyrule, and he didn’t make a habit of touching his face since it was hidden under a mask the vast majority of the time. He even slept in it, since he was worried that Link would come home in the middle of the night and see his face unwittingly. That was, in fact, one of his biggest fears: that Link would see his disfigured face and be disgusted, or kick him out, or that he would panic upon seeing that they looked strikingly similar and send him back to Lorule. It was draining.

-

Ravio knew that Link’s departure was soon, but he didn’t think it would be this soon.

They were sitting at the table, and Ravio had won all the rupees for the third game of poker in a row. It was a quiet evening in, since Link was resting after a particularly tough fight that left a wound on his thigh. Ravio had played nurse as best he could and bandaged it for him, and his limp he entered the small house with was already diminishing. His resilience would never stop surprising Ravio.

Link made a noise of frustration as Ravio swept the rupees up in his arms and laughed. “Tough luck, Mr. Hero!” he taunted.

[ _You must be cheating,_ ] Link signed in a huff.

Ravio faux-gasped and clutched his chest. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I may be greedy, but I’m no cheater,” he joked, pretending to be offended. He gathered the cards and began shuffling them, anticipating Link’s demand for a rematch like he always did. When no such demand came, he peeked up at him under the mask. His brows were furrowed, and he looked lost in thought while looking directly at Ravio. That wasn’t particularly odd, since he zoned out fairly often, so Ravio didn’t pay too much mind. “Want to play another round, buddy?”

[ _I want to see your face,_ ] signed Link hesitantly, looking determined.

Ravio blinked in shock before laughing nervously. “You know the drill, Mr. Hero, I can’t show you,” he muttered, shuffling the cards a little more aggressively. 

Link’s lips pressed together into a hard line and he insistently signed, [ _I’m leaving tomorrow to fight Yuga. In case I don’t come back..._ ] His fingers hovered in front of him, like he was trying to formulate the end of the sentence, before he finally finished, [ _...I want to see it, just in case._ ]

Ravio felt sweat bead on the nape of his neck. He should’ve seen this coming--he's seen the way Link looks at him over the dinner table, like he was a puzzle to be figured out--but he was more blindsided by his announcement that he was leaving. Hylia, he was selfish; he was so selfish, he wanted him to stay in Hyrule with him, Yuga be damned. Living with Link had been... well, it had been domestic bliss, compared to Lorule, and he wasn’t ready to give it up yet. “Don’t talk like that, you’re definitely coming back,” he feebly mumbled.

[ _But if I don’t, I don’t want to die without having seen your face._ ] Link’s face grew almost frantic and his jaw set like it always did when he was being stubborn.

Ravio paused his shuffling. “I--” he began.

[ _You can’t, I know,_ ] Link sighed. [ _But... please?_ ]

His pleading eyes cut through Ravio like the master sword at his hip. He did have a point--if he did die during his clash with Yuga, he would regret not showing Link his face for the rest of his life. But if he didn’t die... Ravio was going to regret this. He cursed under his breath, before finally acquiescing, “Alright,” because Hylia knew he couldn’t ever say no to Link.

[ _Really?!_ ] Link immediately brightened, perking up in his seat with a glimmer in his eye.

Ravio took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah, alright,” he said mostly to himself, fiddling with the end of his scarf. He hadn’t even seen his own face in well over a year... what did he even look like anymore? What did his scar look like? Had it healed? Was it white like Link’s older scars, or was it still dark red like his newer marks? Did he still have the stress lines and bags under his eyes like he did in the months before he absconded to Hyrule, or did they melt away as he healed in Link’s cottage, staying practically inert while he began to process his trauma and forget what the anxiety of running a kingdom felt like? Did he even still look anything like Link, his alternate universe counterpart? “Can we sit on the bed for this?”

Link nodded fiercely, already standing before he finished the question. Ravio was simultaneously worried and encouraged by his enthusiasm. He tried to steady his breathing before following Link to the bed and sitting cautiously next to him. His mind was racing and his teeth were worrying at his bottom lip as he tried to work up the nerve to take off his hood. _This was such a bad idea. Why did I agree to this? He’ll hate me_ , he thought, feeling tears begin to burn at the back of his eyes.

To his surprise, Link was patient and let him work up the courage to unwrap his scarf from around his neck. The cold air on his exposed neck made a chill run down Ravio’s spine, and he saw Link’s eyes dart from his partially bare collarbone up his neck. Not much had been revealed yet--Link already knew his pale skin tone from seeing his hands-- but it still felt like he was totally vulnerable under his voracious eyes. Another tense minute went by as Ravio tried to fight back the symptoms of a panic attack by taking deep breaths to slow his racing heartbeat. He heard Princess Hilda’s voice in the back of his mind, taunting, “ _Coward_.”

He closed his eyes and lifted his hood off before tossing it behind him in one swift motion.

Fuck, his face was warm. He felt a flush of shame and embarrassment wash over him, surely making his face go bright crimson what with the pallor of his skin. _This was a bad idea, Link was definitely thinking he was grotesque, disgusting, a monster, a deceiver, why did he let Link talk him into this?_ His breaths were shallower and shallower each time, his quick exhales the only sound in the room.

Ravio flinched when he felt calloused fingers touch his skin. “Wh--” he began, but Link placed a finger over his lips to shush him. If he wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now. He could feel every minute movement as Link’s rough fingers traced his nose, cheekbones, lips, and above all his scar. He gingerly felt around the ridge, all the way from his eyebrow to his jaw with a gentleness Ravio had never experienced from him. Link was not one for caution--he was one for impulse, and too much, and pushing boundaries, and recklessness--so it surprised him to feel the slight brush of his battle-roughened hands across his cheeks. He choked back a whimper when Link tucked a lock of his inky black hair behind his ear. 

To his surprise, he heard a rasping sound from Link. He hadn’t heard it many times before, but he knew that it meant that Link was trying to speak to no avail. He very rarely tried to speak, since they both knew it wouldn’t work--he had only tried twice in Ravio’s memory, both times to warn him of a monster behind him. Link made a frustrated sound when nothing came out and lightly tapped Ravio’s eyelids, prompting him to open his eyes. Ravio shook his head vigorously--if he opened his eyes, he’d have to face Link and the consequences of his actions, and he wasn’t ready (he’d probably never be ready). Was he looking at him with awe, like Ravio wished, or was he looking at him with repulsion, as Ravio feared?

Link huffed when he refused to open his eyes. A pregnant pause filled the space, and Ravio squirmed uncomfortably. He felt so naked, despite being fully clothed under his analyzing eyes. After a few seconds, Ravio felt the ghost of Link’s fingers as they moved counterclockwise over his face. When Ravio didn’t respond, he did it again, and again, and again, until he finally understood.

He was signing [ _Beautiful_ ,] on his face, over and over and over.

Ravio didn’t realize he was crying until Link’s thumb swiped a hot tear away. He could sense Link coming closer, and his breath hitched in his throat. After a second of tension that felt like a year, Ravio broke the spell. “Please,” he croaked hoarsely, not fully sure of what he was asking for, but Link gave it to him anyway.

Link’s hands slipped downward to cradle his jaw and angle his face just right, and the pressure of his slightly chapped lips on Ravio’s made him melt immediately under his fingers. It felt like a dream; he grew lightheaded as he attempted to process that yes, Link was kissing him, and yes, he called him beautiful, and yes, he loved Link so much it hurt. Before he could fully understand was what happening, Link pulled away, and his eyes finally slipped open. He dabbed the tears away from his eyes with his scarf and took in Link’s expression, unobscured by the one-way mesh of the rabbit mask’s eyes. His blue eyes were so full of fondness that it made his heart clench in his chest, and his lips were parted just slightly, and he was looking at him so softly, and Ravio would give anything to kiss him again.

Link brushed another tear away from his cheek, and then pressed a feather-light kiss there. Then, he kissed the tip of his nose, then his chin, then his jaw, and then the entire length of his scar. Ravio was overcome with emotion, and all he wanted to do was either never wear his hood again or never take his hood off again. He couldn’t stop himself before whispering, “I love you,” just barely audible enough to hear.

That prompted Link to grin from ear to ear, and if Ravio wasn’t mistaken, his eyes began to water, too. He quickly raised his pinkie finger, index finger, and thumb to sign [ _I love you_ ,] then gestured outward over and over again to say, [ _so so so so much._ ] He kept repeating it over and over, just like the sign for beautiful, which made Ravio almost burst into tears again. He’d never considered the possibility for his feelings to be requited, especially since Link was typically so laconic and emotionless, and his emotions were threatening to bubble forth again. Instead of crying, Ravio just threw his arms around him and held him tight to his chest, refusing to let him go.

They stayed like that for a while, before Link slowly pushed him back so they laid horizontally on the bed, legs entwined and faces close enough to breathe the same air. He kept rubbing his cheek so gently, as if he were made of glass, so fragile he might break if he pressed too hard. He was probably right. Ravio wasn’t sure if he slept or stayed awake; he felt like he was floating between consciousness and unconsciousness, the only anchoring sensation being the back of Link’s knuckles on his cheek. He was overwhelmed and emotionally drained in the best way--he probably could’ve slept for a full day if Link let him, but of course he didn’t, and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Ravio reluctantly opened his eyes to meet Link’s piercing gaze.

[ _I still have to fight Yuga tomorrow._ ]

Ravio’s heart fell through his stomach, and he lifted a hand to run his fingers through his honey blonde hair. He almost forgot why he even showed Link his face in the first place--in case he didn’t survive the fight. The thought was too much to bear so he tried to push it back, but it reared its ugly head again. “I know.”

[ _Will you stay with me? If I win?_ ] he signed, eyebrows knitted together with worry again. If Ravio had any say in the matter, he’d never look that concerned ever again.

Ravio considered the question. He hadn’t told Link anything about his past yet (he’d been saving that particular conversation for after Yuga), so he couldn’t tell him that he wasn’t quite sure. He wanted to say yes, yes, a thousand times yes, but truth be told, he might have to go back to Lorule to help Hilda rebuild her kingdom. Instead of answering the question, he mumbled, “ _When_ you win.”

Link saw right through him and looked at his face with the sadness of someone much older than their eighteen years that made his heart sear with pain. [ _Will you stay with me?_ ] he reiterated.

Ravio finally brought himself to make eye contact again. “I will. If I can,” he finally decided on saying.

[ _Can you tell me who did this to you?_ ] Link signed, and Ravio could feel the protective rage behind his words.

“If you get back, I’ll tell you everything,” he vowed, guilt settling in his stomach. Keeping secrets was the worst feeling, and Link deserved to know, he deserved the world, but he couldn’t. Not yet.

  
[When _I get back_ ,] Link signed, with a sense of melancholy that hurt more than Yuga’s sword.

“ _When_ you get back,” Ravio breathed, willing himself not to cry again and pressing a kiss to Link’s knuckles.


	2. epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that there's nothing to do because of quarantine, I finally sat down and wrote the requested epilogue! Enjoy :)

Once it was all over, Ravio felt as if it was just beginning.

Hilda reinstated him as her knight after admitting her wrongs, Princess Zelda graciously assisted her with the restructuring of Lorule’s government, and Link... Well.

Ravio wanted nothing more to see Link, to kiss him again, like he did the night before everything happened. It was all he thought about anymore, and already, two weeks had passed since. He wasn’t even sure if Link was  _ alive _ . He was bleeding heavily when Ravio arrived and spilled his guts about his relationship with Hilda, and he hadn’t seen him since Zelda took him back to Hyrule with her. He hoped that he was simply recovering in an infirmary, but the sight of his green tunic turned black with blood was burned into Ravio’s eyelids permanently. He remembered acutely how Link’s eyes went wide when he took off his mask and revealed his identity as Hilda’s ex-knight and the look of betrayal and hurt on his face. Ravio never wanted to see him make that face again.

Fuck, he hoped that Link was alive.

He hadn’t left his room since he got back that day. It was shameful, really; he wrapped himself in his violet blanket he hadn’t seen in years and mourned. If not Link, then he grieved for the life he had with him in Hyrule, so simple and domestic. The days when Link would come home and play cards with him for hours, the days when Link would come home wounded and Ravio would play nurse as best he could, the days when Link tried to cook for both of them and ended up almost setting the house on fire... Just thinking about it made him yearn for those days that would never come back.

Hilda visited him once a day, and the pity radiating off of her was nauseating. She’d sit on the bed next to him and offer some meaningless platitude she must’ve learned from Zelda like “Everything will turn out alright” or “Keep your head up.” She’d give an update on the talks with Zelda, like that they had begun constructing Hyrule-style bridges to connect all parts of Lorule, and pointedly didn’t mention Link. Ravio assumed the worst.

Two weeks after that day, Ravio finally mustered the willpower to get out of bed for good. He stumbled into the shower and blasted his skin with scorching hot water until his entire body was red, scrubbing aggressively at his disgusting hair until he was sure it was clean. After a ridiculously long shower, he got properly dressed for the first time in years in his old knight’s clothes (a purple tunic, silver leggings, and black boots) as well as his blue and black striped Hyrulean scarf and took a good look at himself in the mirror. He looked like a mess. Either he had been this ugly for two years, or a shower couldn’t wash away weeks of depression; his skin was sallow, the bags under his eyes were pronounced, and above all, his scar was prominent. He never noticed that it cut through his eyebrow before, or that it was shiny where it was healed, or that it wasn’t actually the bright crimson gash he always thought it was. He looked older, the baby fat on his cheeks less pronounced, his jaw more pointed, his eyes more sunken than they were when he last looked at himself over two years ago. He didn’t look like a monster, he looked like a boy. Just a boy, with a huge scar on his face.

He remembered the way Link signed the word [Beautiful] over and over again on his skin.

He finally dragged his eyes away from himself and splashed his face with cold water. After fighting a comb through tangled hair that had grown to be a bit shaggier than normal, he exited his en suite and left his room. He was instantly taken aback by the difference between the stale air in his room and the fresh air of Lorule Castle, and he was overcome with a certain melancholia. The last time he breathed the castle air, saw the castle bricks, it was the last time he saw Link, bleeding profusely...

He made a beeline for Princess Hilda’s study, relishing in the familiar feeling of his boot heels hitting the dark red rug that lined the hallways. While it brought back fresh memories, it felt nice to be back in his home universe, walking down his home castle. Once he reached the heavy oak doors that marked Hilda’s study, he paused and took a deep breath. He wanted more than anything to crawl back into bed and relive his night with Link over and over again, but if he really wanted to know what happened to Link, he’d have to talk to Hilda.

He knocked three times and entered. Hilda was sitting at her desk with a quill in her hand and Princess Zelda was standing next to her, talking quietly to her. Hilda immediately jumped to her feet, accidentally pushing Zelda in the process, and practically ran across the room to envelop Ravio in a bear hug. “I’ve missed you,” she muttered into his shoulder, gripping him tighter.

Ravio didn’t know how to react--Hilda was never physically affectionate like this--and, after a second of shock, gently reciprocated the hug. After a moment, Hilda let him go and smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’ve been trying to do my best without you, but it’s admittedly been pretty difficult.”

Ravio swallowed past the dryness in his throat. “Where’s Link?”

Hilda’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Link? Why?”

Then, it hit Ravio: Hilda and Zelda had no idea that he even knew Link, let alone had feelings for him. They didn’t know. That’s why Hilda never mentioned Link to him, because why would she? Fuck. “I... where’s Link?” he stammered. His head hurt. He wanted to go back to bed.

“He’s in the Hyrule Castle infirmary,” Zelda piped up from the other side of the room. “We’ve established a reliable portal between Lorule and Hyrule, so you can visit him if you’d like.”

Alive, he’s  _ alive! _ “Take me to him,” Ravio croaked, taking a step to the left to make eye contact with Zelda past Hilda’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe that he really was still alive; he’d already assumed the worst and grieved for weeks... he sure looked foolish now, huh?

“Are you sure? Why are you so obsessed with him?” Hilda asked incredulously, touching his elbow with a concerned look painted on her regal face.

“Uh. We, uh... we kind of lived together for a couple of years in Hyrule when I left,” Ravio mumbled quickly so she couldn’t hear. “Zelda, please, take me to him,” he clearly enunciated.

“You  _ what _ ?” Hilda queried, before Zelda began ushering Ravio out of the room. Hilda huffed loudly and followed, closing the doors to her study behind them.

“He’s been unconscious for the most part, but when he’s awake, he keeps fingerspelling your name. I thought it was just delirium or something, but now that I know you know each other, I regret not informing Princess Hilda sooner,” explained Zelda as she led Ravio down a twisting series of hallways. “Can I ask how specifically you know him?” she ventured, her voice cautious as if she didn’t want to be rude.

Ravio took a deep breath. “Well,” he said with a wavering voice, “while you were trapped in that painting and Princess Hilda was... you know.” He gulped and shot Hilda a glance. Was it too soon? “I was living in Link’s house and helping him on his quest.”

Hilda sputtered. “What? How did you even get to Hyrule?”

Ravio guiltily scratched where his scarf met the nape of his neck. “After we last talked, Princess, I went to talk to Yuga, and it ended in him slashing my face badly and leaving me to bleed out. I had been experimenting with a certain alloy that I thought we could use, and I was wearing it tempered into a bracelet, and, well, I just... went to Hyrule.”

Hilda bit her lip. “I was wondering where you got that scar...”

Ravio flinched as if he were hit. “Yeah. I know.” A pregnant pause spread between the three of them. Finally, Ravio decided to continue his story. “I was basically squatting in an old church in Hyrule when I saw Link passed out between the pews. I dragged him to a nearby house that turned out to be his, and the rest is history. He let me stay, I sold him items to help him, and we became friends pretty quickly.” His voice quickly lost power and fell to a mumble by the end. “I, um, I wore a mask to hide my face because I’m sure you can imagine how gross my face must’ve looked, and the night before Link destroyed Yuga, I showed him my face for the first time.”

Zelda nodded sagely. “That must’ve taken a lot of courage, Ravio,” she said, her voice laden with compassion.

Ravio chuckled nervously. “Yeah. Yeah, it did. I was terrified, but he didn’t think I was that bad,” he said, a smile beginning to spread on his face. He couldn’t wait to see Link again.

“I want to apologize,” Hilda announced loudly, planting her feet in the middle of the hallway in which they were walking. “For not listening to you, for trusting Yuga, for letting him hurt you like this, for making you run away, for  _ everything _ . I feel pretty fucking horrible about who I’ve become,” she stated, and Ravio could see her eyes water the slightest bit.

“Language,” Zelda tutted under her breath.

“I think it’s appropriate in this situation,” Hilda retorted matter-of-factly.

“I forgive you.” Ravio took her hand in his own and brought it to his mouth so he could kiss her knuckles. “I’ve missed you terribly in the two years I’ve been gone, my princess,” he smiled fondly. The weight on his shoulders for the past few years was beginning to lift ever so slightly.

Hilda pressed her lips together in a tight line and brought her free hand up to wipe at her eyes. “I missed you too, my knight,” she squeaked, obviously failing at holding back tears. 

-

Zelda led Ravio to what he could only assumed was the infirmary. Predictably, it was empty but for one bed at the far end of the room, hidden from view by a curtain. Zelda held her finger to her lips to shush Ravio and approached his bed. Ravio’s heart pounded in his ears and his fingertips--he was still reeling from the fact that Link was alive, much less five feet away from him.

“How are you feeling today?” Zelda asked, her tone so gentle it seemed as if she was scared if she was any louder, she’d hurt him. She had pulled the curtain back just enough to reveal her own face, letting Ravio hide just a moment longer. He heard a rustle that was probably Link signing, and Zelda replied, “That’s great. I actually have a visitor for you today.” The excitement in her voice was tangible.

With that, Ravio cast the curtain aside with great panache. He took in the form of Link, sitting shirtless in a hospital bed with a myriad of bandages across his chest and arms. His hair was even messier than normal, and his blue eyes were dull, sleepy. Not when he saw Ravio, though. When he saw Ravio, his eyebrows shot up so high they were obscured by his bangs and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He flapped his hands in excitement and fingerspelled [ _ Ravio! Ravio! _ ] over and over again as he climbed out of bed.

“Be careful!” Zelda chided, helping him out of bed so he didn’t hurt himself.

Once Link was on his feet, he was in Ravio’s arms, pressing kisses to his cheeks before finally kissing his lips enthusiastically. Ravio could feel them both smile into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Link so tight, he was positive they would never be separated again. The instant burst of warmth he felt was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before; after two weeks of thinking Link was dead, kissing him again felt like he was dreaming. Once they parted, Link held his face in his hands, running his thumbs down the planes of Ravio’s face. “I thought you were dead,” Ravio breathed, letting his eyes take in Link’s face for the first time in what felt like far too long.

[ _ You’re Hilda’s knight, _ ] Link signed insistently. [ _ Who gave you your scar? _ ]

Ravio exhaled shakily. “I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?” He helped Link sit back down on the bed and sat by his side, their thighs touching. Lolia, it felt so good to be reunited.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” It was then that he remembered that Princess Zelda was there, too. She was looking at them with a mixture of surprise and amusement on her face before she waved goodbye and left them alone in the infirmary. 

Link looked at Ravio expectantly, and out of habit, Ravio reached to where his bunny ears would be if he was wearing his hood. He explained his past--the scar, the costume, his past as Hilda’s knight, why he couldn’t tell him his identity earlier--and Link grasped his hand with his own and squeezed sympathetically. [ _ If Yuga wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him again for what he did to you, _ ] he signed with his free hand.

Ravio chuckled airily. “I appreciate the thought.”

[ _ Now we match. _ ]

“Huh?” queried Ravio.

In response, Link stood, his legs trembling, and turned around to show Ravio his unclothed back. All Ravio could do was gasp; a huge bandage, partially soaked with blood, covered the majority of his upper back. Link peeled back the gauze. It looked similar to Ravio’s face scar, in that it was a diagonal slash designed to disfigure. His skin was mottled pink and purple around the edges, and the gash itself was seemingly only just beginning to scab over and heal. The sight brought wetness to his eyes, and he instinctively pressed the gauze back into place, hiding the wound from view. “Yuga?” he asked through the lump in his throat.

Link nodded, turning around to face him again. Ravio analyzed his face, and all he could find was affection, no sense of sadness over his own injury, just genuine empathy and love. Ravio couldn’t hold himself back anymore; he grabbed Link by the back of his neck and pulled him in, kissing him again and again and again. “You’re so beautiful,” he sighed, carding his fingers into his caramel hair. He never thought he’d get to feel this ever again, and he thanked every god in existence that he was.

[ _ I love you, _ ] Link signed in response, his skin tinted the slightest bit pink and his lips red from Ravio’s relentless attack.

“I thought you were dead.” The images of Link’s limp body still hung in the very back of his subconscious.

Link’s eyes went wide. [ _ Didn’t Hilda tell you I was still alive? _ ]

Ravio bit the inside of his cheek. “I only just told her and Zelda about our, uh, relationship today. She didn’t know that we even knew each other.”

Link’s eyebrows furrowed. [ _ I tried to get to you, but I’ve been so weak... _ ]

“I know, Mr. Hero.”

At the sound of his old nickname, Link grinned as wide as he could and laid a kiss on Ravio’s cheek. [ _ I’m never leaving you alone again _ .]

-

When Ravio opened his eyes, the Hyrule sunlight was bathing the entire room in gold, leaving an angelic tinge to everything he saw. Especially Link, who laid in bed beside him, his mouth slightly open and his hair a messy halo on the pillow. Ravio felt himself smile. He stretched, lifting his arms above his head and taking a deep breath, before nudging Link awake. “C’mon, Mr. Hero, you know the drill. We’ve got to get back to Lorule today,” he cooed, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Link made a sleepy noise of protest and simply rolled over in bed. Typical Link.

Ravio shook his shoulder a little harder. “Don’t make me leave you behind in Hyrule.”

Link suddenly sat up in bed, eyes squinted as he adjusted to the light. [ _ You wouldn’t dare _ .]

“Oh, I would if you sleep in any longer,” Ravio teased.

In response, Link smiled deviously before tackling him, pressing him into the mattress. [ _ We both know you’d never. _ ]

Ravio looked up at him, his chest aflutter. “Maybe.” When Link leaned down to kiss him, Ravio pushed him away playfully. “You’ve got the worst morning breath.”

Link made a ridiculous face. [ _ I’ve been signing! _ ]

Ravio pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “After you get up and brush your teeth, we can kiss all you want.” Link groaned petulantly as Ravio rolled out from under him and stood, rummaging through the closet for clothes to wear. Ravio watched him enter the en suite bathroom, marveling at the bright white scar on his back, and smiled to himself. They were coming up on their one-year anniversary in a couple weeks. He was so incredibly lucky. After a few minutes, Link entered the bedroom again, hair wet and skin damp from his shower. His vivid blue eyes met Ravio's.

Beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support! I appreciate everyone who kudos'd and commented! (Also I may or may not be working on a Ravioli arranged marriage/royalty au... eyes emoji eyes emoji)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! (I'm also thinking of writing more Ravioli or Zelda/Hilda fic for ALBW, and Sidlink/Zelpha fic for BOTW, so stay tuned.)


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